Procedures for Wide Angle Underwater Photography. Wide angle shots create a dramatic effect of the surroundings which include subject matter, background, other actions and a contrast of color of water to the surface or sunlight. Wide angle lenses offer three key advantages in underwater photography. A larger image of view, a higher depth of field that will be in focus and the focal point can be less than a foot from the lens. Most camera lenses are like a four by six picture frame. Holding the frame six inches away from the face will result in what a thirty-five millimeter lens will view. Move the frame to one inch is what a fifteen millimeter lens will project. This wider field of vision allows a larger contrast in background reef and divers interaction with the subject. Another benefit is the contrast in water colors. Wide angle lenses can create problems when a divers hand reaches out to attract a fish. The effects of the lens magnifies the hand to the point the proportions of size distorts the composition of the picture. Composing an image with these lenses takes planning of location of subject matter, immediate foreground of surroundings, mid background placement in picture, the angle of the background hues of the waters colors and the distance that the flash will enhance without over exposing areas of the image. An added benefit of a wide angle lens is a larger range that will be in focus. With the thirty-five millimeter lens there is about three to five feet that can be in focus. The wide angle fifteen millimeter can have two feet in focus when distance setting is closer than two feet and for subjects set to three feet, everything from two and a half feet to infinity will be in focus at certain f-stops. Remember bracketing by changing the setting of the f-stop will change the range that will be sharp in the picture. Higher the f-stop setting, the wider the field of focus. Dramatic effects of small creatures and fish as a focal point and consuming one-third of a picture can be created with ease quality photos using a wide angle lens. In composing an image the rules of thirds is important in placing a flow for the eyes to follow and the key subject sized to one-third the image. When forming a picture, use three horizontal and three vertical lines, dividing the frame of view into quadrants. Place three subjects and background at points of intersecting lines flowing right then left then right creating a picture to guide a viewers eye. Adjust the exposure f-stop where the background will not be to dark and place the strobe where the flash will not effect the subject matter. Mostly the strobe restores colors and highlights areas of the foreground and the subject being photographed. Leaning where to judge exposure setting is where practice of skills needs to be focused first. Practice a whole role of film on learning the balance of subject and background exposures. By changing the f-stop and shooting four to five different shots at each setting for each subject matter, images can be analyzed for which f-stop produces the best blending of lighting for depth of water, bottom topography, cloudy days and angle of sun for the time of the day. All will effect the available light and how a photographer makes adjustments to the f-stop and the amount of artificial light added to a picture. Remember Underwater Photography starts as skill development, then composition followed by technique and finely artistic realization. Email Us Now